OBJECTIVES
Students will be able to,
 Understand the theme of the poem after
discussion.
 Answer the questions in their words.
 Explain the stanza.
 Enjoy the lyrics of poem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN7t4FEc6A8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys8mdoINiOQ
INTRODUCTION TO POET
• CHARLES LUTWIDG DODGSON was known under his
pseudonym Lewis Caroll.
• He was educated at Rugby and Christ Church, Oxford,
where he became a lecturer in Mathematics.
• His most famous work
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was written in
1865.
• A second volume, Through the Looking-Glass
and What Alice Found There followed in 1871.
STANZA 1 and 2
Incessantly: (adverb) constantly, without interruption
Discussion questions
1. What funny thing father William
did in his old age?
2. How did father William answer
the first question of the young
man?
STANZA 3 and 4
You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before,
⁠And have grown most uncommonly fat;
Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door—
⁠Pray, what is the reason of that?"
"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
⁠"I kept all my limbs very supple
By the use of this ointment—one shilling the box—
⁠Allow me to sell you a couple."
Back-somersault: a movement
(as in gymnastics) in which a person turns
forward or backward
Supple: flexible
Sage: someone who has attained wisdom
Discussion questions
1. What helped father to keep his bones
strong and why he offered it to the
youth?
2. Why the son is surprised to see father
doing somersaults ?
STANZA 5 and 6
"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak
⁠For anything tougher than suet;
Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak:
⁠Pray, how did you manage to do it?“
“In my youth,” said his father, “I took to the law,
And argued each case with my wife;
And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,
Has lasted the rest of my life.”
Suet: a type of hard fat used in cooking,
taken from around the kidneys of
animals such as sheep and cows.
STANZA 7 and 8
"“You are old,” said the youth, “one would hardly suppose
That your eye was as steady as ever;
Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose –
What made you so awfully clever?”
I have answered three questions, and that is enough,”
Said his father; “don’t give yourself airs!
Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
Be off, or I’ll kick you downstairs!”
Awfully: Very, completely
Eel: a snake-like fish with a slender
elongated body
Discussion questions
1. Explain the line “don’t give yourself airs?
2.
How did father William’s jaw gain
strength?
3.
What was the last question of the
youth?
Question/Answers (copy work)
1. Enlist the amazing things that the old man can do in
spite of his age.?
2.
How did father William’s jaw gain strength?
3. In few words discuss the character of
boy(youth)?
4. What is the main idea of the poem?
5. What is father William’s attitude towards his son’s
questions at the beginning of the poem and at the end
of the poem?
6. Why the term sage is used in the poem for whom it is
used?
Thank you